Rejoicing in Hope Rom. 12:12 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

In Rom 12:12 Paul said that we should be rejoicing in hope. When you lose hope, you will sink in despair.  So, today we will see where you find hope so that you can be rejoicing in hope and not wallowing in despair.  You will be rejoicing when you find the:

Hope that is in God’s salvation – Rom 8:24-25 – salvation is wonderful.  In it we have the promise of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins.  But many Christians leave salvation right there.  They get saved, get “the feeling” of the lifting of their sins and then go right on doing what they did before they trusted Christ.  You will not be rejoicing in the hope of God’s salvation when you are living like that.  The hope in God’s salvation causes you to rejoice continually in God’s mercy [Ps 33:18] and in your future resurrection [1 Cor 15:19-20] and in your growth as a child of God.  Like a fellow said, “I may not be what I ought to be but thank God I am not what I was.”  The hope of the gospel includes our conformity to the image of Jesus Christ [Col 1:22-23], our calling [Eph 1:18], our fruitfulness in the work of God and our future inheritance with Christ [Col 1:5-6].

Hope that is in God – Ps 39:7 – [42:5, 11; 43:5] – so many times in the Christian life we face situations that seem like they are certainly going to overwhelm us.  And then we turn to God and find hope in him.  And often we rejoice in his hope even before we are delivered from the crisis.  You just know that he is going to come through for you.  This hope abounds through the power of the Holy Ghost [Rom 15:13] and causes us to rejoice.  We know that the Lord has the provisions.  We know that he has the compassion.  We know that he desires the thanksgivings and the glory he receives when he helps us and we praise him.  Glory to God for the hope that is in Him!!

Hope that is in God’s word – Ps 119:147 – Ps 119 has several verses that remind us of our hope in God’s words.  When you find yourself struggling with something that challenges your hope in God, read more of his words.  Christians typically don’t read enough of God’s words to see and know the hope that is in them.  I find that when I reach a place of uncertainty or indecision and I read more Bible that the Lord removes the uncertainty and indecision and fills me with hope, instead.  People who keep getting beat up by the same stuff and who start thinking that they are hopeless need to nourish themselves more in the words of God.  In them you will find hope.

Hope that is in the Lord’s return – Titus 2:13 – as you see the world becoming progressively worse you have a tendency to fret and worry.  Quit looking at the demise of the conditions and morals around you and look up.  There is no hope in this old world.  Our blessed hope is in Jesus Christ.  And Jesus is coming soon, I sincerely believe.  When he returns, we’ll get our glorified bodies, we’ll be raptured off this earth and we will be with him for eternity.  He is going to straighten out all of this mess down here.  we’re on the winning side.

Conclusion: while there is hope in God and in his salvation, his word and his return, there is no hope without Christ.  Eph 2:12 [Prov 11:7].  If you are without hope today because you are without Christ, you need to trust him as your Savior and rest in his blessed hope!!